China · Chinese
Shenxian steamed duck
A whole young duck steamed at length in stock with aromatics, breast up, the original broth poured over — a Kongfu banquet centrepiece, the meat falling from the bone and the broth sweet and clear. Said to be named for timing the steaming by burning incense. Public reference · home adaptation, not a historical original.
Public reference · Home adaptation Shenxian duck was originally called shengzheng quandya, a whole duck steamed, and is a long-standing centrepiece of the Kongfu banquet. One account says that Kong Fanpo, the seventy-fourth-generation descendant of Confucius and magistrate of Tongzhou in Shanxi, tasted a steamed duck, asked how it was made, and was told the cook counted time by burning incense — three sticks and the duck was done when the incense burned out — at which he called it “shenxian”. This appears in Qufu and overseas-Chinese introductions to Kong cuisine and is a story, not a documented fact. The name also points at precision in cooking time. Kong cuisine relies on its own “three-set” layered broth for savouriness; this version substitutes a home chicken-and-duck stock and says so. Serves 6 with a ~1.5 kg duck, steamed about 1.5 hours. The “three sticks of incense” is a cultural anecdote, not a usable time standard; the home test is that a chopstick slides in easily and the meat releases from the bone. Stock quantity and seasoning are editorial for this bird. Thaw and drain the duck thoroughly and use a deep enough pan so the broth does not overflow. Contains poultry; rice wine contains wheat and alcohol. The whole duck, skin and offal included, must be thoroughly cooked through. 中国侨网：神仙鸭子 — The shenxian duck formula from the Kongfu recipe collection — duck 1,500 g, stock 1,300 g, scallion, ginger, fennel and salt — with blanching, marinating, about 1.5 hours of steaming and the original broth poured over. This is the source of the steps used here. https://www.chinaqw.com/node2/node116/node514/node538/node548/userobject6ai172122.html 百度百科：神仙鸭 — The claim that shenxian duck uses three sticks of incense to time the steaming, plus the Kongfu signature-dish list and its 2011 national intangible-heritage listing. https://baike.baidu.com/view/1491560.htm FoodSafety.gov: Safe Minimum Internal Temperature — ≥74°C centre temperature for poultry. https://www.foodsafety.gov/food-safety-charts/safe-minimum-internal-temperatures AI-generated illustration; not kitchen-tested.
Ingredients
- young duck, about 1.5 kg, dressed1500 g
- unsalted stock made from chicken and duck bones1200 ml
- Shaoxing rice wine60 ml
- fine salt8 g
- scallion lengths20 g
- ginger slices12 g
- Sichuan peppercorns3 g
- fennel seed, tied in muslin2 g
- cornstarch, to thicken5 g
Directions
- 1
Thaw and clean the duck, open it at the rib cage to remove the innards, trim the tip of the bill and the claw points but keep the tongue and webbing. Blanch about 3 minutes in boiling water, rinse off the scum in cold water and drain thoroughly.
- 2
Rub the duck inside and out with 20 ml wine and 2 g salt, and leave about 10 minutes.
- 3
Bring the stock to a simmer with the scallion, ginger, peppercorns, fennel bundle and the remaining wine, skim the foam, season with salt and simmer about 10 minutes to draw out the aromatics.
- 4
Set the duck breast-down in a deep pan and pour in all the stock to cover. Skim any foam off the surface.
- 5
Steam over high heat until it boils, then turn to medium and steam about 90 minutes, keeping a gentle simmer. Do not lift the lid partway.
- 6
Lift out the duck and pick out the scallion, ginger and spice bundle. Bring the broth to a boil, skim it and thicken lightly with a cornstarch slurry.
- 7
Turn the duck breast-up in the serving dish, ladle the hot broth over it and serve at once.
Source: WorldBite · public-reference adaptation · Source-attributed editorial adaptation; AI illustration; not an authenticated original recipe.